2008 BMW M5 Owners Manual

Controls
55Reference
At a glance
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
3Hook of upper retaining strap
4Mounting point
5Rear window shelf
6Backrest
7Upper retaining strap of child restraint sys-
tem
Fold upward or remove co vers befo re using the
mounting points.
1.Slide the head restraint upward.
2.Thread the upper retaining strap between
the head restraint supports.
3.Attach the retaining strap hook to the
mounting point.
4.Slide the head restraint into the bottom
position.
5.Pull the retaining strap taut.
Center rear seat
1.Fold the center armrest somewhat toward
the front.
2.Guide retaining strap through the opening.
3.Fold back the center armrest.
4.Attach the retaining strap hook to the
mounting point.
5.Pull the retaining strap taut.
On trips
If the vehicle is equipped with rear side
airbags, make sure that children do not
lean out of the child's seat towards the door
panels. Otherwise injuries can be caused if the
side airbags are triggered.<
Child-safety locks for rear doors
Slide down the safety lever on the rear doors:
the door can now be opened from the outside
only.
Safety switch for power windows
Always press the safety switch for the power
windows, refer to page38, when children are
riding in the rear of the vehicle.

Driving
56
Driving
Ignition lock
Inserting remote control into ignition
lock
Insert the remote control as far as possible into
the ignition lock.
Radio readiness switches on.
Some electronic systems/consumers are ready
for operation.
Comfort access*
With comfort access, only insert the remote
control into the ignition lock in exceptional
cases, refer to page36.
Removing remote control from ignition
lock
Do not pull the remote control out of the
ignition lock using force, as otherwise
damage may result.<
Before removing the remote control, first press
it in as far as possible to release the locking
device.
The ignition is switched off if it was still
switched on.
Start/Stop button
Pressing the Start/Stop button switches the
radio readiness or the ignition on and off.
Manual transmission: the engine starts
when you depress the brake pedal while
pressing the Start/Stop button.
Sequential Manual Transmission: when you
press the Start/Stop button with the brake
depressed and the selector lever in position P
or N, the engine starts.<
Radio readiness
Some electronic systems/consumers are ready
for operation. The last information of the com-
puter selected is displayed in the instrument
cluster.
Radio readiness is switched off:
>when the remote control is removed from
the ignition lock
>with comfort access
* by touching the sur-
face on the door handle, refer to Locking on
page36
Ignition on
All electronic systems/consumers are ready for
operation. The odometer and the trip odometer
are displayed in the instrument cluster, refer to
page66.
Please switch off the ignition and the
electronic systems/consumers which are
not required when the engine is not running to
save the battery.<

Controls
57Reference
At a glance
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
Radio readiness and ignition
switched off
All indicator and warning lamps in the instru-
ment cluster go out.
Starting engine
Do not run the engine in closed rooms,
otherwise the inhalation of toxic exhaust
gases can cause unconsciousness and death.
The exhaust gases contain carbon monoxide,
an odorless and colorless, but highly toxic gas.
Never leave an unattended vehicle with the
engine running, as such a vehicle represents a
potential safety hazard.
Before leaving the vehicle with the engine run-
ning, shift into neutral
* or move the selector
lever into position N and firmly apply the hand-
brake, otherwise the vehicle can begin to roll.<
Avoid frequent starting in quick succes-
sion or repeated starting attempts in
which the engine does not start. Otherwise, the
fuel is not burned or inadequately burned and
there is a danger of overheating and damaging
the catalytic converter.<
Do not allow the engine to warm up by leaving it
running while the vehicle remains stationary.
Instead, begin to drive at a moderate engine
speed.
Manual transmission*
Remote control in ignition lock or with comfort
access in vehicle, refer to page36.
1.Depress brake pedal.
2.Depress the clutch pedal and shift into
idling position.
3.Press the Start/Stop button.
Sequential Manual Transmission with
Drivelogic
Remote control in ignition lock or with comfort
access in vehicle, refer to page36.
1.Firmly apply the handbrake.
2.Depress brake pedal.
3.Place selector lever in position N.
4.Press the Start/Stop button.
If the engine does not start, shift back to
the last selector lever position selected,
refer to the instrument cluster display or the
selector lever. Then select position N.
You cannot start off with the hood open.
When the engine is cold, the exhaust system
has a slightly metallic undertone due to the sys-
tem design.<
Switching off engine
When leaving the vehicle, always take the
remote control with you.
When parking, firmly apply the handbrake, as
otherwise the vehicle could roll.<
Manual transmission*
1.Press the Start/Stop button with the vehicle
stopped.
2.Shift into first gear or reverse.
3.Firmly apply the handbrake.
4.Remove the remote control from the igni-
tion lock, refer to page56.
Sequential Manual Transmission with
Drivelogic
1.Firmly apply the handbrake.
2.Shift into a driving position.
3.Press the Start/Stop button.
If N is engaged when switching off the
engine, this will be pointed out to you opti-
cally and acoustically.
4.Remove the remote control from the igni-
tion lock, refer to page56.

Driving
58
Handbrake
The handbrake is primarily intended to prevent
the vehicle from rolling while parked; it brakes
the rear wheels.
Indicator lamp
The indicator lamp lights up, and a sig-
nal also sounds when starting off. The
handbrake is applied.
Indicator lamp for Canadian models.
Applying
The lever locks in position automatically.
Releasing
Pull slightly upwards, press the button and
lower the lever.
If exceptional circumstances should
make it necessary to apply the handbrake
while the vehicle is in motion, do not pull it too
firmly. In doing so, continuously press the but-
ton of the handbrake lever. Otherwise, too firm
an application of the handbrake can lock up the
rear wheels and cause the rear of the car to
swerve.<
To prevent corrosion and one-sided brak-
ing action, occasionally apply the hand-
brake lightly when the vehicle is slowly coming
to a stop if the traffic conditions are suitable.
The brake lamps do not light up when the hand-
brake is applied.<
Manual transmission*
While shifting in the 5th/6th gear lane,
press the gearshift lever toward the right,
otherwise accidental shifting into the 3rd or 4th
gear could result in engine damage.<
When shifting into 1st gear, you may feel a
slight jolt. This part of normal operation and no
reason for concern.
Reverse gear
Select only when the vehicle is stationary.
When pressing the gearshift lever to the left,
overcome some resistance.
Shift lights
To achieve the best vehicle acceleration with a
sporty driving style, shift lights in the Head-Up
Display
* indicate the optimum shifting point
briefly before reaching the maximum rpm. Refer
to Shift lights, page62.

Controls
59Reference
At a glance
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
M Engine Dynamic Control
With M Engine Dynamic Control you can influ-
ence how sporty the reaction of your vehicle to
accelerator pedal movements is to be. Three
programs are available to you.
"P 400" program
In the "P 400" program the engine reacts gently
to movements of the accelerator pedal. This is,
for example, ideal for city driving or driving on
snow. In the process, the fuel consumption is
minimal and the engine output is reduced.
"P 500" program
The "P 500" program provides maximum per-
formance and more spontaneous reaction of
the engine to accelerator pedal movements.
"P 500 Sport" program
In the "P 500 Sport" program the engine reacts
especially spontaneously and uncompromis-
ingly sporty with maximum performance to
accelerator pedal movements.
Selecting program
Sequential Manual Transmission with
Drivelogic
Each time the engine is started, the "P 400"
program is activated.
Press the POWER button to activate the
"P 500" program. Pressing the POWER button
repeatedly switches between the programs
"P 400" and "P 500".You can also activate your preferred program
with the button on the steering wheel, refer
to MDrive on page50.
Please activate the "P 500 Sport" program with
MDrive.
For the programs "P 500" and "P 500 Sport"
the LED in the POWER button lights up.
Manual transmission
Each time the engine is started, the "P 400"
program is activated.
You can select the programs "P 400", "P 500"
and "P 500 Sport" with the button on the steer-
ing wheel, refer to MDrive on page50.
Sequential Manual
Transmission with Drivelogic
The concept
The SMG Sequential Manual Transmission
with Drivelogic is an automated manual trans-
mission in which an electrohydraulic system
handles the clutching and gear changes.
The Sequential Manual Transmission is oper-
ated with the selector lever and two shift pad-
dles on the steering wheel.
It offers you the following functions:
>Optional manual or automatic operation:
Sequential mode or Drive mode
>Selection option between different driving
programs, Drivelogic, refer to page61
>Upshift display, shift lights, refer to page62
>Automatic downshifting and prevention of
incorrect shifting even in Sequential opera-
tion
>Automatic double clutching

Driving
60
Selector lever positions
>R: Reverse gear
>N: Neutral
>Β: Drive position:
>+: manual upshifting
>–: manual downshifting
>D/S: switch between Drive mode and
Sequential mode
Shiftlock
Press the brake pedal before shifting out of N;
the shift command will not be executed unless
the brake is applied.
R Reverse
Select only when the vehicle is stationary.
N Idle
Always select before starting engine.
If the driving situation requires, e.g. when down-
shifting on a slippery road surface, the Sequen-
tial Manual Transmission automatically
clutches and then declutches again, i.e. it is not
necessary to manually shift into idling mode.
The system shifts into N when you open
the driver's door or the hood with the
engine running and do not operate pedals, shift
paddles or the selector lever. To begin driving
after closing the driver's door or the hood, first
shift the selector lever into the N position, and
then shift into drive.<
S Sequential mode
You can shift up and down using the shift pad-
dles or the selector lever. You do not need to
remove your foot from the accelerator to do so.
After every engine start, as soon as the selector
lever is pushed to the right into the drive
positionΒ and the brake pedal is pressed, the
Sequential mode is activated.
Starting off is also possible on a level road sur-
face in second gear, e.g. in case of ice.
In the following situations, the Sequential Man-
ual Transmission thinks for you:
>Upshifts and downshifts are executed only
when they will result in a plausible combina-
tion of engine and vehicle speed; thus, for
example, a downshift that would cause the
engine to overrev will not be executed by
the system.
>When the vehicle is stationary, the trans-
mission automatically downshifts into first
gear.
>Shortly before dropping below a gear-
dependent minimum speed, the transmis-
sion downshifts automatically even without
your intervention.
D Drive mode
In the Drive mode, all forward gears are shifted
automatically.
Shifting from Sequential mode to Drive mode:
press selector lever to the right toward D/S.
To switch back into the Sequential mode: shift
using the shift paddles or the selector lever or
press selector lever to the right toward D/S
again.
Kick-down: for rapid acceleration, e. g. when
passing, press the accelerator pedal as far
down as it will go. You achieve maximum accel-
eration.

Controls
61Reference
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Driving tips
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Navigation
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Mobility
Displays in instrument cluster
1Gear 1 to 7, R, N engaged
2Selected driving program,
matches the number of illuminated fields,
refer to Drivelogic on page61
3In drive mode, the currently selected gear
followed by a D is displayed
The gear display flashes when you open
the driver's door with the engine running.
If you do not subsequently operate the pedals,
shift paddles, or selector lever, then the system
shifts into N.<
Gear changes
Using selector lever
>To upshift, pull the selector lever back.
>To downshift, push the selector lever for-
ward.
Using shift paddles on steering wheel
>To upshift, briefly pull the right shift
paddle +.
>To downshift, briefly pull the left shift
paddle –.
Drivelogic
With Drivelogic various driving programs are
available to you.
Each time you change between the Sequential
mode and the Drive mode, the respective last
program is active. Exception: after the first
change from the Sequential to the Drive mode,
driving program 3 is active.
In Drive mode
There are five different driving programs, rang-
ing from relaxed 1 to sporty/highly dynamic 5.
In Sequential mode
You can choose from six driving programs rang-
ing from balanced/dynamic 1 to sporty/purist 6.
Each time the engine is started, driving
program 3 is activated.
Program 6 is only available when the DSC
Dynamic Stability Control is deactivated, refer
to page80. If DSC is activated, then the system
switches from program 6 to program 5
To maintain vehicle stability, always acti-
vate DSC whenever possible.<
Selecting driving program with button
in center console
Press the button repeatedly until the desired
driving program is displayed in the instrument
cluster, refer to page.61

Driving
62
Selecting driving program via button
on steering wheel
You can also activate your preferred driving pro-
gram with the button on the steering wheel,
refer to MDrive on page50.
With the ignition switched on you can set
MDrive on the Control Display.
iDrive, for operating principle refer to page16.
1.Open the start menu.
2.Press the controller to open the menu.
3.Select "MDrive" and press the controller.
4.Select "SMG Drivelogic" and press the con-
troller. The first setting is selected.
5.Turn controller to set Drive mode or
Sequential mode.
"Unchanged" retains the current settings
made outside of MDrive.
6.Press controller to select driving programs.
7.Turn controller to set driving program.
8.Press the controller.
Shift lights
To achieve the best vehicle acceleration with a
sporty driving style in the Sequential mode,
shift lights in the Head-Up Display
* indicate the
optimum shifting point briefly before reaching
the maximum rpm.
1.Switch on Head-Up Display, refer to Head-
Up Display on page89.
2.Select display "M View" on Head-Up Dis-
play, refer to Selecting displays on page89.The current engine speed is highlighted on
the tachometer.
3.When approaching the maximum rpm, yel-
low illuminated fields1 of the tachometer
consecutively indicate the approaching
upshift point.
4.Shift at the latest when the red indicator
field lights up2.
When the permissible maximum rpm is
reached, the entire tachometer begins to flash.
When the maximum rpm is exceeded, the fuel
supply is cut off to protect the engine. Always
avoid engine speeds in this range.
Turn signals/
headlamp flasher
1High beams
2Headlamp flasher
3Turn signals
Using turn signals
Press the lever beyond the resistance point.
To turn off manually, press the lever to the
resistance point.